Facebook Gets Green Light To Sue DLA Piper, Other Law Firms

A judge has ruled that Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg can pursue civil litigation against DLA Piper and other law firms that represented Paul Ceglia in his case claiming part ownership of the social media site. Facebook claims the law firms “conspired to file and prosecute a fraudulent lawsuit … based on fabricated evidence, for the purpose of extorting a lucrative and unwarranted settlement.” Last year, DLA Piper’s General Counsel Peter S. Pantaleo told the New York Times that Facebook’s case was meritless, and was merely “a tactic to intimidate lawyers from bringing litigation against Facebook.” Meanwhile, Paul Ceglia cut off his ankle monitor earlier this year and missed a scheduled criminal trial in Manhattan related to documents he allegedly forged in the case.